Sponsorship Proposals for Sailors 101

Even with the sunglasses on, this face is recognisable. (See Top Tip #2)

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Despite an increasing professionalism in the sport of sailing and yacht racing, many sailing rights holders’ presentations are inferior to those prepared by 20 year old motor-racing drivers.

After a few tough years, sponsorship is showing signs of growing, especially for properties that can prove their value to brands who are looking for ways to engage disparate audiences. At the top end of the sport of sailing, rights holders who have been working incredibly hard to educate brands about their value are expected to announce big deals in coming weeks, which will be good news for sailing.

But having just read another fairly lazy attempt at soliciting funds for what is fundamentally an interesting sailing campaign, I thought I would share some of the things that bug me about many of the pitches that come onto my desk.

Sponsorship Proposal Tip 1 – Your Cost is not the Price!

Just because a can of Red Bull costs a few pennies to manufacture does not mean that the brand sells you it for pennies. Instead, the sugar and carbonated water and mystery energy ingredients give you wings and a reflected sense of cool. You pay a couple of bucks for that product because its value to you is much higher than the cost to the manufacturer.

Similarly, the price for your sailing campaign should not be the amount that it will cost you to deliver it. The price, or the amount you ask for, should be a valuation of the benefit that the sponsor will derive from being involved.

Bear in mind that the sponsor is looking for a return on the amount invested that is a multiple of the outlay – if they spend $100,000 then they are looking to get $300,000 or $400,000 worth of value in return.

There may be a time in the negotiation where a sponsor will want to know how the money will be allocated, but showing the equipment and team running costs doesn’t highlight the value of the investment.